How To Save A Life
by runaway0wl
Summary: This is a songfic to "How To Save A Life". It focuses on how Glinda feels during the events of Act 2


**A/N: This is my first fanfiction so hopefully it is alright. If you enjoy it, please review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Wicked. The song "How To Save A Life" belongs to The Fray.**

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**Step one, you say, "We need to talk." He walks, you say, "Sit down. It's just a talk." He smiles politely back at you. You stare politely right on through.**

Glinda stood in the attic, sitting down and leaning against the wall. Glinda had tried to talk Elphie out of running away. She had tried to convince her to stay and face the wizard, but instead she chose to go flying off the handle. Things would have been different if she would have just _listened_. She snorted spitefully. When did Elphaba ever listen? She was too Oz-damn stubborn, and now they were in this mess.

**Some sort of a window to your right, as he goes left and you stay right. Between the lines of fear and blame, you begin to wonder why you came.**

Fiyero seemed distant. When Glinda had her celebration for the engagement, he had stormed away from her. It had caused her to be on the brink of tears.

Though that hurt, what he had said before he left hit her in the gut like a brick. It caused guilt to gnaw at her insides and she felt like crumpling on to the floor. She couldn't though, and continued to fake a smile for the citizens of Oz.

He had blamed her for Elphie being chased away and becoming a criminal. The more she thought about it, the more she believed it truly was her fault. After all, she didn't do anything to stop it. She was too caught up in her own selfish needs and her want for glory. Before she met Elphie- when she was young and foolish- she thought that the position she was in now would fulfill her. Now, she realized it only brought emptiness.

**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life.  
**  
She was bitter. She was burning with hatred. She had always known somewhere inside of her that Fiyero and Elphaba had liked each other; before she had just been blinded with ignorance. But now her eyes were open, and she saw the truth. Glinda didn't realize what she did next until she felt her hand come across the green girl's- no, woman's- face as hard as possible.

She cherished the small victory for a few seconds until Elphie slapped her back. They began to fight. At first, Glinda was just filled with rage towards her, but slowly she began to regret what she had done. She hadn't been thinking when she told Madame Morrible to send the house to kill Nessarose. Oz, what had she done? She had just killed Elphie's sister. Her first real friend's sister.

Glinda was about to voice her apology, but before she could, the guards came in. Tears welled up in her eyes, and as one rolled down her cheek, she whispered, "Elphie, I am so, very sorry."

**Let him know that you know best, 'cause after all you do know best. Try to slip past his defense, without granting innocence.**

Usually, Elphie was the one with the best decisions, but this time, Glinda knew in her heart that _she_ had the right one.

"It's time I surrender..."

When Elphie spoke those words, Glinda was shocked. The green girl who never gave up, who stood for everything she believed in, had been... broken.

"Elphie... Elphie, what is it?" Glinda pleaded, grabbing Elphaba by the wrist.

"I just... I'm going to surrender, okay!" Elphaba explained, throwing her hands up in the air. Grabbing Glinda by the shoulders, she told her, "You need to leave. Now."

"Don't surrender! You'll be killed!" Glinda cried

"So be it," Elphaba said with a final look of defiance. It was then that Glinda realized Elphaba had made up her mind. There was no way to change it. Though Glinda knew that she knew best, Elphaba's decision was final.

**Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've told him all along. Pray to God, he hears you, and I pray to God, he hears you.**

"I am going to stay and help you," Glinda huffed.

"What? No! You can't be found here. You must go!" Elphaba pleaded as she paced in the corner of the room.

"I'll tell the guards everything. The truth!" Glinda grabbed Elphaba's hands. "Elphie, I will clear your name. And then, together, you and I, we can be unlimited."

For a second, Elphaba's expression softened, but just as quickly, it hardened again. "They'll turn against you. You could be killed. Just promise me you won't try to clear my name. Please?"

Glinda sighed, giving up. "Alright... I promise. But I don't understand."

Elphaba picked up a book off of the ground and handed it to Glinda. At first, she was confused, but as she examined it, she realized it was the Grimmerie.

"Elphie... I- I can't- I don't know how," she told her, trying to give the book back to Elphaba.

"Just take it," Elphaba persisted. "Thank you for being my friend." She embraced Glinda, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill down her face.

Neither girl knew what to say for a while. Softly, Glinda replied, "And thank you, for being a friend that mattered. You have changed me f- for good."

**And where did I go wrong? I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life.**

The sound of the witch hunter's cries and footsteps quickly took place of the sad silence in the castle walls.

"Quick, Glinda! You have to hide!" Elphaba instructed.

Glinda hid behind a shelf on the opposite side of the room. Soon after, the witch hunters came marching in with malicious looks on their faces. They began to surround the witch, obscuring her from Glinda's view.

Glinda wanted to cover her eyes, but she couldn't. She was terrified. Silently, she cried, and tears streamed down her face. Suddenly, Elphaba screamed and the witch hunters moved just in time for Glinda to see her dearest friend melt in front of her. "Elphie?" she whispered, as she rocked back and forth, pulling her knees to her chest. She sat, feeling numb, waiting for the witch hunters to leave.

When they finally left, shouting triumphantly, Glinda got up shakily. She was trembling violently. "Elphie? Elphie?" It took her a while to navigate across the room, and when she reached the place where Elphaba previously was, she sank to the floor once more.

Chistery, one of the flying monkeys, approached the spot where Elphaba once was. Glinda looked up and saw the objects that were lying on the floor. She reached out with an unsteady hand and grabbed the tattered hat.

Glinda examined the hat and began to laugh bitterly. "I gave her this tattered thing... I thought it was ugly..." Her laughs were quickly replaced by choked sobs, and her body heaved on the floor.

"Miss- Miss Glinda?" Chistery whispered.

Glinda limply raised her head. Chistery stretched his hand out and handed her the green bottle that once belonged to Elphaba's mother. She grabbed it and clutched both items as close to her body as possible while she wept for hours on the cold floor. Her only friend was dead. Elphie was _gone_.

Glinda would have given anything, sacrifice everything, even herself, just to have had the chance to save a special green girl's life.


End file.
